Water meter



R. J. LYMAN.

WATER METER. APPLICATION FILFD JULY 18,1919.

Patented Au". 1",1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I To all whom it may concern:

t 3 We t I. Fran? BAY aar'nyivmn, or BERKELEY, cannon-urn.

7 WATER METER. v

1,425,876; Specification. of Letters Patent. Pafjejytggd hug,

Application filed July 1 8,

Be it known that I, RAY JAY Lyman, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVater Meters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such'as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertainsto makeanduse the same. i H

My invention relates to water meters and the present embodiment thereof is intended principally for use in connection with weirs, dams, orifices and the like, as employed 111 connection with irrigatin 'systems and the principal object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and easily installed meter which will not become clogged by trash, silt and the like, and which will accurately register the amount of water con sumed. a

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel construction and ar-; rangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which form a partof this application.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved water meter showing its application to a weir.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of. the meter and a portion of the weir.

Fig. 3, is a vertical line 3-3 of Fig. 2. 1

Fig. 4c is a horizontal section on the plane section as indicated by indicated by line 4-4'of Fig. 8..

Fig. 5 is a detail section on the planeindicated by line 55 of Fig. I

In carrying out my invention Iprovide a water operated meter, and employ means to supply a stream to said meter from; a body of water, and for'increasing or decreasing the stream, in proportion to the rise and fall of the water level of said body, and I by preference employ the novel features of construction described :below, since they have in actual use proven to lie-highly eflicient and in every way desirable.

The numeral 1 designates a passage member preferablyin the form of a single vertical tube adapted for reception in a body of water such as 2, the lower end of said passage member discharging into a-' water operated meter 4. When the passage; member is in the form of atubc, i connect lower end by an elbow5 with a lateral .tached to the weir orthelike.

1919. seri iiro. 3113011.

preferably to one side. ofhthe stream of wall or the like 7 to the meter 4, the, tube 7 being .located on the, upstream side of the wall, orifice, or thelike, while the meter'is locatedv onv the opposite side thereof and water passing through, the opening. The

size ofthe. stream of water, discharged into "the m'eterd and-,its consequent strength ccn-. trols the registering of the latter; and in order that the sizeof said stream mayincrease or diminish in proportionfto the rise and fall of the" water level in, the body*2', I provide the passage member 1 with vertically spaced openings 8. When thewater level is low and the meter'is supplied with water from only one or more'of the lowermost openings 8,

said meter will not of course record'rapidly.

Howev'en when the water level rises and more water passes over the dam, weir, oritice, or the like, the passage member 1 is sup? ings S, with the. resultthat the meter dis driven proportionately faster.

I preferto-surround-f the tube 1 with a tubularscreen. 9 whichmay well; be provided with a ring 10 at itsgbottom resting'on the elbo wv5,an-d withaninverted cone shaped top-11 receivable in the iipper end ofsaid tube'1',tb center the screen. Surroundingthe screen 9, is a tubular jacket 1 2 which is spaced from said screen bysuitable flanges or the like 13 contacting therewith. The a'cket 1 2 is provided with suitable anchoring means,

plied withwater through more of the-opens v such as the arm 14 secured to its upper end 1 j andadapted to be -nailed'or otherwise at- The'meter a is preferably constructed as shown most clearl in Fi e. 2 and 3. The- T meter injquestion'is provided with a cylindrical casing 15 with its ax s disposed vertically, the-botton of said casi'ng having. a central water; outlet 16, a continuous water, channel 1? around. said outlet, and a water inlet 18 dischargingtangentially into vsaid channel, said lIllGt communicating with the aforesaid memberl by means of thebranc'h;

6 or otherwise. The inner edge of the channel 17 is provided with a notch 16 leading to the'outletld'to'render the meter more sensitive when used in connection with "weak ratio may of course be varied according to i wvaterheads. On topofthecasing 15 or located in any other preferred manner, is a passage .member 1.

units of measurement.

than

the conditions encountered when installing the device. ShaitQl is provided with depending arms 22 having paddles 23 on their lower ends traveling in the channel 17. The paddles 23 arepreterably oi": spoon shape and these paddles together with their car rying arms 22 may wellbe stamped from a single piece of sheet metal, the joined upper ends of said arms being attached in any suitable manner to the shaft 21, for instance by securing said attachedends in a vertical slot 2% formed in said shaft as seen in Fig. 5. The stream of water entering the channel 17 acts against the paddles 23 and thus serves to rotate shalt 21 and drive the counter 19, thereby accurately registering the consumption otwater in acre-feet or other desired The channel is at all timesfilledwith water, but the movement of the current and consequentlythe speed oi the counting device is controlled by the strength or the stream supplied to the casing '15 from the passage 'member 1, and this stream is 111 turn controlled by the-level of water of the body 2.

i-iny preferred means such as brackets 2amay be employed to secure the casing 15 to the weir wall or the like 7, a casing 25 having a transparent top 25, will in most instances be provided for the counter l9'and the gearing 20, and if desired the entire meter tmay be encased in a box or the like having openings to allow the water to escape as it is discharged from the outlet 16.

The deviceis comparatively simple and inexpensive, may be easily attached, will be eflicient and reliable in operation, cannot be easily tampered with, and will not clog from silt, trash and the like, due to the jacket 12 and the screen 9. The lower end of the jacketis at all times submerged and consequently'any trash and the like floating on the surface of the water cannot enter the In case any foreign matter should gain entrance to the jacket 12, it is excluded cm the passage member 1 by the screen 9.

When the device is used in connection with submerged orifices, the vertical side wall of casing 15 may be oi. considerably greater height than when used with weirs as shown, and it is to be fully understood that my invention is not restricted to use with weirs or with any other specific features of irrigation systems.

Since probably the best results may be obtained from the details disclosed, they may well be followed, but within the scope oi the invention as claimed, the device may be embodied in numerous forms other than that shown.

I claim:

l. The combination with a water damming device extending across a stream, of a water meter at the down-stream side of said body water, said tube having vertically" spaced openings to admit a or lesser "antity of water t said body es and falls respectively, and a tubular ja'clre't. surrounding said tube in spaced relation thereto and having'an open lower end adapted to at all times be submerged, whereby to prevent trash and the ike floating on the surface oi the'wa-ter from entering said tube.

3. ln a water meter supply means, a tube adapted for vertical disposition in a'body oat water, said tube l'iaving vertically spaced o enings to admit greater or lesser quany of water to said tube as the level of said body rises and .lls respectively, a tu bular screen surrounding said tube, a tubular aclret surrounding said screen in spaced relation thereto, and having an open lower end adapted to all times be submerged, whereby to prevent trash and the like on the surface the water from entering said tube.

in a water meter supply means, a tube apt-ed for vertical disposition in a body'oit water, said tube having vertically spaced openings to admit greater or lesser quantity ct water to said tubeflas the level of said body rises and falls respectively, a tubular screen surrounding saidtube'in spaced relation therewith and having an inverted cone closing its upper end and resting in the up per end of said tube to center said screen, and a tubular open ended jacket surrounding said screen in spaced relation thereto and having spacers contacting with the outer side of saidscre en.

5. A water meter supply means comprising a tube for vertical disposition in a body of water and adapted to extend above the water-level, the lower end of said tube having means for placing it in communication RAY AY LYMAN.

said tube as the level of 

